Konrad Zuse was a German engineer and computer pioneer. He invented the object that we all have come to love and adore today. He also invented the computer language called Plankalkul. Zuse's first and greatest achievement was inventing the Z3 in 1941, which was the very first form of the computer. He later received the Werner-von-Siemens ring in 1964 for the Z3. There is a replica of Zuse's Z3 in the Deutsches Museum in Munich.
Insight and Influences
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Konrad Zuse was born in Berlin, Germany June 22, 1910. Prior to 1934, there were no records of Zuse having any ideas of computers or anything related. In 1928, Zuse had difficulty deciding what he should study. Finally he decided that he was going to be a civil engineer. In Berlin in 1935, he was awarded his diploma and started working with the Henschel Aviation Company. Along with many other engineers and scientists of the time, Konrad hated doing all of the computing on paper. Zuse always said that machines should do all of the computing instead of human beings.
Major Contributions
"the Z1 was the first freely programmable, binary based machine in the world!" Zuse created the first computing machine in 1936 and named it the V1. Zuse later changed the name to the Z1 so that there would be no confusion with the V1 rocket. The Z1 consisted completely of thin metal sheets, which he made by using a jigsaw. Konrad rebuilt the Z1 in 1986 because it was almost identical, in terms of architecture, to that of the Z3. The Z3 was destroyed in the Second World War. Konrad Zuse personally financed the remodeling of the Z1 with the help of some family members. Of course, it was fairly difficult for Zuse to remodel because he was seventy-seven years old. It would be hard for anyone of that age to have such an accomplishment. Since the original Z1 drawings were destroyed in the war, Zuse created thousands more drawings for the Z3. There was a delay in 1987 when Zuse had a heart attack. This delayed him for about 6-months. The Z3 was finished in 1989. [1]
Affect and Effect
There were quite a few things that affected Zuse throughout his life. One of which is boredom. While he was in Engineering school, he had to do all of the time consuming calculations by hand. He would find himself dozing off many times, daydreaming about what it would be like to have a machine do all of the calculations for you. This AFFECT ultimately led to the completion of the Z1 (first computer). In addition, throughout Konrad's life he loved to paint. You may say that painting can create a person's "creative" side, possibly leading to the formation of the Z1 computer. The effect of Konrad Zuse's accomplishments can be determined when he says,"Well, I guess, it took many inventors besides me to develop the computer as we know it nowadays. I wish the following generation All the Best for their work with the computer. May this instrument help you solving the problems which we
old folks have left behind." The most obvious effect that Zuse gave to the people of today is the computer. He knew that. It may also be said that he is most remembered for his ability to not boast about his accomplishments. He always said that so many other people contributed more than he did to the invention of the computer, even though he was the first person to create a machine (by his self) that calculated difficult algorithmic and other engineering problems.
The Things He Left Behind
Konrad Zuse will always be remembered for what he did for the technology of the twentieth century. He will be remembered for "Plankalkul" and the pioneering of the computer. His "computer" consisted of many forms. The forms were z1,z2,z3,and z4. The original z1 was destroyed in world war two in Germany by bombs. Zuse created Plankalkul around the same time as the first z1 was built. Plankalkul consisted of various numbers arranged in a certain sequence to form a language having to do with calculating. This language made it so much faster than doing all of it on paper.
Table of Contents
Konrad Zuse
Konrad Zuse was a German engineer and computer pioneer. He invented the object that we all have come to love and adore today. He also invented the computer language called Plankalkul. Zuse's first and greatest achievement was inventing the Z3 in 1941, which was the very first form of the computer. He later received the Werner-von-Siemens ring in 1964 for the Z3. There is a replica of Zuse's Z3 in the Deutsches Museum in Munich.
Insight and Influences
Konrad Zuse was born in Berlin, Germany June 22, 1910. Prior to 1934, there were no records of Zuse having any ideas of computers or anything related. In 1928, Zuse had difficulty deciding what he should study. Finally he decided that he was going to be a civil engineer. In Berlin in 1935, he was awarded his diploma and started working with the Henschel Aviation Company. Along with many other engineers and scientists of the time, Konrad hated doing all of the computing on paper. Zuse always said that machines should do all of the computing instead of human beings.
Major Contributions
"the Z1 was the first freely programmable, binary based machine in the world!" Zuse created the first computing machine in 1936 and named it the V1. Zuse later changed the name to the Z1 so that there would be no confusion with the V1 rocket. The Z1 consisted completely of thin metal sheets, which he made by using a jigsaw. Konrad rebuilt the Z1 in 1986 because it was almost identical, in terms of architecture, to that of the Z3. The Z3 was destroyed in the Second World War. Konrad Zuse personally financed the remodeling of the Z1 with the help of some family members. Of course, it was fairly difficult for Zuse to remodel because he was seventy-seven years old. It would be hard for anyone of that age to have such an accomplishment. Since the original Z1 drawings were destroyed in the war, Zuse created thousands more drawings for the Z3. There was a delay in 1987 when Zuse had a heart attack. This delayed him for about 6-months. The Z3 was finished in 1989. [1]
Affect and Effect
There were quite a few things that affected Zuse throughout his life. One of which is boredom. While he was in Engineering school, he had to do all of the time consuming calculations by hand. He would find himself dozing off many times, daydreaming about what it would be like to have a machine do all of the calculations for you. This AFFECT ultimately led to the completion of the Z1 (first computer). In addition, throughout Konrad's life he loved to paint. You may say that painting can create a person's "creative" side, possibly leading to the formation of the Z1 computer. The effect of Konrad Zuse's accomplishments can be determined when he says,"Well, I guess, it took many inventors besides me to develop the computer as we know it nowadays. I wish the following generation All the Best for their work with the computer. May this instrument help you solving the problems which we
old folks have left behind." The most obvious effect that Zuse gave to the people of today is the computer. He knew that. It may also be said that he is most remembered for his ability to not boast about his accomplishments. He always said that so many other people contributed more than he did to the invention of the computer, even though he was the first person to create a machine (by his self) that calculated difficult algorithmic and other engineering problems.The Things He Left Behind
Konrad Zuse will always be remembered for what he did for the technology of the twentieth century. He will be remembered for "Plankalkul" and the pioneering of the computer. His "computer" consisted of many forms. The forms were z1,z2,z3,and z4. The original z1 was destroyed in world war two in Germany by bombs. Zuse created Plankalkul around the same time as the first z1 was built. Plankalkul consisted of various numbers arranged in a certain sequence to form a language having to do with calculating. This language made it so much faster than doing all of it on paper.
References
1. http://www.epemag.com/zuse/part2.htm
2. http://www.gap-system.org/~history/Biographies/Zuse.html
3. http://www.rtd-net.de/Zuse.html
4. http://inventors.about.com/library/weekly/aa050298.htm
5.